


Snapshots From Before the Love Set In

by PetraLynn



Series: Fears Overlooked and Misplaced [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Time Travel, Tom just wants to be a good boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 14:13:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16138925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetraLynn/pseuds/PetraLynn
Summary: Time travel/faulty time turner Tom notices Hermione, Hermione tries to not be noticed.





	Snapshots From Before the Love Set In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Brooklynhills](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brooklynhills/gifts).



> Thanks to Brooklynhills who got me started on this again.

When Hermione woke up in the Hogwarts infirmary she thought the war might have been an elaborate nightmare.  When her friends were not around her, when the only faces she recognized were a young Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle she blacked out, maybe she screamed. But this was expected by those who were there and written off as a symptom of shock.   

Tom’s curiosity was peaked when the mysterious girl had been found nearly dead in the courtyard. When she let out a blood curdling scream he was not suppressed, it is reasonable that one might scream when waking up in a strange place, with strange people, after being pulled from death’s door. When she was sorted into Slytherin he was so delighted he barely noticed how she had turned as pale and as stiff as a statue.

She had nightmares, she thinks, something had been causing her to wake up screaming. She was surprised by how the other girls in the Slytherin house reacted, she had assumed that after she nearly tore their eyes out it would be the topic of conversation at the breakfast table. Instead for nearly a week they took turns calming her back to sleep singing lullabies she did not recognize in either content nor langue. It wasn’t until after she had fallen asleep in the common room that anyone commented about it. Malfoy suggested moving her to a private room, and just like her roommate never treated it as breakfast chatter, no Slytherin let her situation became rumors in the hallways.

To say Tom was excited that he had competition in classes would be a grievous understatement he was thrilled, exsatic, overjoyed. During their first potions class together Slughorn called on her she answered timidly and tense but correct and utterly. The first time they were paired for a potions he was absolutely delighted that her practical knowledge her theoretical, he had to fight the overwhelming urge to kiss her.

* * *

The first time Hermione dueled Abraxas Malfoy in front of her classmates she made the mistake of trying to downplay her skills, she had already drawn too much attention and didn’t want anymore the plan as much as it was one failed.

“I know you got more than that in you Granger no need to hold back on my account”

She did, not noticing when Riddle and the rest class watched on in fascination as Malfoy’s and hers duel went from friendly classroom practice of shouting spells at each other, to an exercise in both their skills in nonverbal spell casting. She did not notice how the classroom fell away, how she was in a classroom and not a warzone. Forgot until after she had gotten Abraxas’ wand out of his hand and she paused to apparate away, her terror setting when she was unable, forgot until she screamed in terror when he picked up his wand and advanced toward her to wish her good duel. He stopped the instant he recognized, he dropped his wand and his hands in the way that said “look, see that I am unarmed, that I will not hurt you”. After she’d stopped screaming when she realized she wasn’t fighting for her life he hugged her.

One moment Malfoy was taunting her. The next they were engaged in the most beautiful duel Tom had ever had the pleasure to witness, her wand work started plans forming in his head. The planning was cut short when he notice how she wasn’t fighting with just technical precision but ferocity, the type forged in the fires of war. He say how the moment Malfoy was no longer in possession of his wand she prepared herself to flee, noticed the down right terror course through her when she couldn’t. And if he was the first he was only slightly quicker on the uptake as when she scream everyone in the classroom noticed when she screamed.

The first time Tom had the first pleasure of dueling with Hermione he thought he might end it with a proposal. If it hadn’t been for her look of pure terror when her wand was knocked out of her hand by magic if it hadn’t looked as though she was ready to face down her death, he might have asked her to Hogsmeade that weekend and not at a later date.

* * *

Weeks, many weeks after Hermione had started classes she and Tom were lingering in the potions laboratory. Tom had finally found what might be a good time, they’d just gotten top marks on their potion.

“Miss Granger, I wish to inquire about matter’s of a personal nature.”

“What about?”

“Professor Slughorn likes to put on a Christmas Party before the end of term.”

Hermione looked confused and in that moment Tom longed to have a peak in her mind, and in that moment he vowed he would never invade her in such a manner, no matter what may become of them.

“I’ve been extend an invitation by Slughorn already.”

“I’ve been hoping you might accompany me to Hogsmeade this forthcoming weekend, and if that outing was fortuitous possibly having the honor of the christmas party?”  

In that moment and just for that moment Hermione forgot that she didn’t belong in this time she felt as a school girl, and she felt like she just might be the luckiest girl to have ever had the misfortune of falling backwards in time.      

“I might just enjoy that Tom.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm petralynnluna on the tumblr if you liked it let me know, kudos and comments always appreciated. :)


End file.
